Port Orchard's Klatman rises to top of BMX world

BMX rider Josh Klatman puts on his helmet as he gets ready to take to the track at the Peninsula Indoor BMX arena in Port Orchard on Monday.
(MEEGAN M. REID/KITSAP SUN)

MEEGAN M. REID

PORT ORCHARD - Joshua Klatman was five years old when he saw his first BMX bicycle rider doing jumps on the old trails around Jackson Park in Port Orchard. It left an indelible impression on the youngster.

"My dad (Jeff) and I used to ride around the trails, and one day there was a guy out there jumping everything and going super-fast," Klatman recalled. "Then we met Al Mazuti, whose son Daniel was doing the riding. I told him I thought it was cool, and he said if I thought that was cool, why didn't I come out to a race?

"We went to our first race . . . and got hooked."

Fourteen years later, Klatman won the 2010 BMX American Bicycle Association Amateur championship.

Obviously, that success didn't occur in the blink of an eye. Thus his racing ambitions also became a family project for Jeff Klatman, his wife Silvia and their youngest son, Jeremy.

"BMX racing was just kind of fun at first," Joshua continued. "Now, it's more for the adrenalin rush and the glory. It's just like motorsports, baseball, football and everything else."

His sport — a bicycle motocross — relies on pedal power and that demands a serious commitment. "We ride indoors during the winter and outdoors in the summer," he said. "I work out almost every day. I'm on my bike four days a week and I'm in the gym two or three days a week. I'm constantly changing my workouts ... adapting like all the other sports. There are always advances in workouts. BMX is the same. You have to stay on top of it."

Klatman, who is a member of the Crupi racing team, is a stickler when it comes to nutrition and, like many other athletes, he reviews video of his rides to see where he can improve.

A 2009 South Kitsap High graduate and now an Olympic College student studying civil engineering, Klatman intertwines sports and studies according to seasons.

"I skip a lot of school to go to BMX races," he admits. "When I come back, then I take time off from BMX. I get a good week off so I can catch back up with school. I get my mix about right so I still get the hours I need to study. That may include going into the tutoring center after class and skipping one day of training. I can always take summer classes just to keep up ... and the parking (at Olympic) is a breeze during the summer."

"School is still the top priority because BMX can only get you so far."

But there is incentive for him to keep polishing his performances. BMX Racing has become an Olympic sport.

"There is a different BMX sanction outside the U.S.," he said. "It's UCI. Riders will accumulate points toward the Olympics, and that's where they also qualify to go to the world championships and race on Olympic replica tracks.

"That's above my league right now while I am trying to fit in school, but I am planning on starting to do that when I finish school — if I have the time. Of course, it is expensive. The 2012 Olympics are going to be in London and there will be world qualifiers everywhere."

When he was younger, Klatman played basketball and baseball in addition to his BMX activities. "He did all three for several years," said his mother. "The big difference was basketball and baseball had seasons, but BMX didn't.

"About four years ago, Joshua decided to focus on BMX. He set goals and he met those goals. BMX was where he felt the challenge. It invigorated him. He really enjoyed playing baseball and basketball — and he even ran track one year — but he felt they would interfere with BMX."

Weekends on the road soon became a regular family routine.

"We are gone a lot of weekends and we spend a lot of time together," she added. "We were driving to races at Sumner, Sea-Tac and Port Angeles ... but that's what we do," she said. "We don't check the car's mileage. We don't want to know how many miles we're driving.

"We have really good conversations in the vehicle going to and from the races. It's a good way to keep us connected."

The Klatmans do get a traveling reprieve when events are held at the Port Orchard Indoor BMX facility.

As for the competition itself, Josh said it takes anywhere from 20-to-50 seconds a lap to get around most BMX tracks. The top three or four riders in each heat move into the next round and that repeats all the way to the finals.

"You put in a lot of laps on race day. Durability is a key, besides knowing when to go all out and when to just settle for second, third, or maybe fourth place in the heat races.

"Last year was my best so far. I won 10 qualifying races and finals."

He's off to a slow start in 2011, winning one of his first seven races, but it's way too early to panic. He's still a couple months away from when he starts racing in the sport's bigger events.

"I didn't hit that groove until summer last year," said Klatman, who was fifth and seventh in races at Phoenix over the weekend. "If I don't pick it up a notch by then, then we're in trouble."

WHAT IS BMX?

The sport of BMX racing is gaining popularity all over the world, especially since it was made an official Olympic sport in the summer of 2008. BMX racing is a sport that is derived from motocross racing, hence the name, bicycle motorcross (BMX).

WHERE TO RACE LOCALLY?

The Peninsula Indoor BMX Track is located at 5867 Dogwood Road SW, Port Orchard. Call Alan Mazuti at 360-876-7434 or e-mail amazuti@wavecable.com for information. More information is also available at gobmx.com.